Free Republic

Apple made some waves at CES 2019 by placing a billboard outside the Las Vegas Convention Center that needled its competitors over user privacy. This year, the company will have an official presence, with Jane Horvath, its senior director of global privacy, set to appear January 9 on a panel called the Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable. The company will be showing off its HomeKit smart home platform during CES. There, Horvath will likely argue for increased privacy protections. The roundtable is also expected to be attended by executives from Facebook and Procter & Gamble, as well as a Federal Trade...

A HomeKit vulnerability in the current version of iOS 11.2 has been demonstrated to 9to5Mac that allows unauthorized control of accessories including smart locks and garage door openers. Our understanding is Apple has rolled out a server-side fix that now prevent unauthorized access from occurring while limiting some functionality, and an update to iOS 11.2 coming next week will restore that full functionality.The vulnerability, which we won’t describe in detail and was difficult to reproduce, allowed unauthorized control of HomeKit-connected accessories including smart lights, thermostats, and plugs.The most serious ramification of this vulnerability prior to the fix is unauthorized remote control of...

A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that on Friday severely impacted internet access for many U.S. web denizens was found to be in part enabled by a botnet targeting unprotected "Internet of Things" devices. For Apple, the revelation vindicates a controversial walled garden approach to IoT borne out through the HomeKit protocol. As detailed yesterday, unknown hackers set their sights on Dyn, an internet management company that provides DNS services to many major web entities. A series of repeated attacks caused websites including The Verge, Imgur and Reddit, as well as services like HBO Now, and PayPal, to see...